Search Archives

Freeman “Would Fit In Well”

It’s used to be all about No. 5, then it was all about No. 8. Now it’s all about No. 12, and Joe hopes it’s soon all about No. 2.

Bucs math sure has been challenging the over the past six months.

Speaking of No. 5, Josh Freeman, his stunning free fall couldn’t be more evident during the opening 10 days of 2014 free agency. Nobody seems to want the man who led the ninth-ranked offense in the NFL in 2012. At 26 years old, Freeman and all his unwanted talent reminds Joe of how Joe feels in a room full of Hooters Calendar girls.

There have been faint whispers of the Raiders’ interest in Freeman. Departed Bucs ironman Donald Penn, the new Raiders left tackle, heard them and addressed them with the San Francisco/Oakland media this week.

Penn would welcome another tour with No. 5. Penn also said he wouldn’t make excuses for his tough season last year, but then proceeded to make a couple of excuses, which were at least reasonable.

Q: There has been talk about possibly Josh Freeman coming aboard. Do you think he is a guy who would fit in here?

Penn: “Yes, I do. I heard rumors about that too. I think he would fit in well. He had some of his best seasons too under Greg Olson and his offense. If Josh would come, I would love to block for him again, or whoever I have to block for. I would love to welcome Josh if it does happen.”

Q: Why do you think last year didn’t go as well for you as this past year? What was the difference you think?

Penn: “I really don’t make excuses – that’s not me. But, there was a lot of stuff that went on with the organization that I am not going to speak on. I had six different guards throughout the year playing next to me, two different quarterbacks and it’s just tough. Playing from behind a lot and stuff like that. A lot of stuff went into it, but that is the past. I am ready to move on, and I am looking forward to turning this thing around this season coming up.”

The Freeman mystery continues.

Joe wonders whether former Bucs rockstar general manger Mark Dominik, now the new “front office guru/insider” for BSPN, will make a media name for himself and have the stones to give a candid assessment of Freeman’s past and present. Wouldn’t that be interesting!

“Joe wonders whether former Bucs rockstar general manger Mark Dominik, now the new “front office guru/insider” for BSPN, will make a media name for himself and have the stones to give a candid assessment of Freeman’s past and present”…..

Very doubtful and I would say he can’t…Dominik has to keep all options on the table including making a return to the league and he will want to remain a GM that players and owners can trust to be professional at all times. The “stuff” that was mentioned in the media is simply the tip of the iceberg with Freeman. Keeping that kind of “stuff” in house is part of playing the role of GM and being a professional that represents your owners well even if the player is taking their parting shots. Gruden is a great example, he gets knocked for being to “positive” in his remarks but he does so to keep options on the table which ultimately lead to negotiating strength when it comes to his contracts. If you slam the door on returning to the NFL by blasting everybody, you also pigeon hole yourself in contract negotiations with BSPN.

As for Freeman returning, I have no doubt that teams will inquire about him however they will likely pay him no guaranteed money until he makes a roster and proves stability in his personal life and work ethic. That being said, the belief by some is Freeman wants to be brought in similar to McCowns deal, basically guaranteeing him a starting job with starting pay. A team will have to be very desperate to agree to those terms and will likely only do so on a 1 yr basis but…..the longer he sits quietly, the more time passes and teams tend to shrug off those concerns. How many chances did T.O. get? A qb like Freeman will get sniffs/looks but Freeman must be willing to accept an arrangement that management can be comfortable with. He’s likely burned bridges with Dominik and Spielman, not the most respected GMs in the league but when both your employers got taken to the bank and show little return on their investment, what GM wants to be the 3rd dummy to fall for the lure of his “raw skills” and one winning season.

I like how Penn says he’s going to “move on” yet is whining at every turn about how the Bucs did him wrong! Aging, play sliding, semi-expensive lineman=getting cut. Simple as that, deal with it DP. Now, move on.

I wish Free the best. The way he left the Bucs with so much class. I hope he can find a good job as a backup in the arena league or as a clipboard holder in the CFL (Crazy F-ing Losers league)… I don’t normally carry such animosity for someone like that, but after what he did, screw him!

As an aside, I personally agree with Penn’s ‘non-excuses’. Watch for him to have a good year with the Raiders

freeman tanked an entire organizations season with his antics and was then given another shot on primetime and looked like the worst QB in history.

what coach wants a guy who has substance issues, mental issues, is selfish enough to do what he and his agent did and has shown the utter incompetence he did on Monday night football. that SOB should be black balled. probably is, but either way the risk out ways any, if any, reward.

@maze, i doubt freeman has the desire to play in the CFL for peanuts if he doesn’t get the NFL contract he’s looking for. he stated multiple times in his contract year that he is set financially and happiness is what’s important

Schiano did the fans a favor by getting rid of Freeman. The entire Raheem (GMC the only exception) era needed to be cleansed from memory, and Schiano started down that path, so I salute him for that. Glad he won’t be calling the shots on game day though.

Freeman needs a psychiatric fitness for duty evaluation before any NFL Team should even consider him for a bench warmer or extra arm in the preseason.
I think Schiano made a head case out of him and he may be damaged goods.

did you just start watching the Bucs last year?? Because that would be the only explanation of you last statement. in the begining of 2011 Freeman was showing he was broken. Schiano was brought in late 2012 with mandates to ” get #5 back on track.” and to ” try to fix Freeman ”

All schiano did was put a little pressure like all the other QB’s have in the league and JFro folded like a lawn chair, among other things. You would have thought that the so called ” media ” would have tried to find the real story. But they were to complacent to write the easy stories of ” Fire Schiano”.

Joe – you have to talk about the news Ron & Ian dropped this week about Josh Freeman being late to the Jets game. Bucs officials allegedly had to go to his house to find him an hour before the game and when they found him he didn’t know where he was or what time it was.

Biggest news of the Bucs season last year and no one is talking about it.

Joe – you have to talk about the news Ron & Ian dropped this week about Josh Freeman being late to the Jets game. Bucs officials allegedly had to go to his house to find him an hour before the game and when they found him he didn’t know where he was or what time it was.

It always amazes me that the medical leaks is blamed on Schiano. Sometimes we can’t see the trees for the forest. If we get away from prejudice and assumption we might consider the leak came from Freemans camp to force his release so he could sign where he wanted instead of being traded. It also deprived the Bucs of gaining anything (ala draft picks). The expectation that Josh would be considered a martyr and his athletic skills would open the door of every GMs office was rather shortsighted. One could say it backfired. I still want the Josh lovers to explain to me why if he is so wonderful and the victim of a bad coach, no one has signed him in this QB needy NFL. He was overrated from the start.